Never Look an American in the Eye

November 1, 2016
A Nigerian man explains how and why he moved to the United States.Growing up in Nigeria, one of Ndibe's (Arrows of Rain, 2015, etc.) greatest dreams was to live in America. So when Chinua Achebe offered him the job of founding editor of African Commentary magazine, a position based in the U.S., Ndibe didn't hesitate to accept. With impressive storytelling skills, the author explores his Nigerian childhood, his dreams and fears, and his arrival in the U.S. during a typical New York City winter, which he "strained to find the language" to describe, eventually settling on "akin to living inside a refrigerator." Initially, the author focuses on his first few weeks in America and then expands to encompass the many years he's lived in the country. He discusses his introduction to American culture and the variety of differences between Nigerian and American society, including how people pay for meals and when they can and cannot visit. He writes about a racial profiling episode that happened between him and a NYPD officer shortly after his arrival in the country (the officer claimed he fit the description of a bank robber), the death of his father and the British man who had been his father's lifetime friend, the day he became a U.S. citizen, and the details of how he met his wife. Ndibe also integrates amusing moments--e.g., the mix-up that his first name, Okey, caused--within his reflections on becoming a writer and attending a master's of fine arts program where he met and worked with a number of distinguished authors. On the whole, these intriguing essays give readers a unique perspective on the U.S. and provide an inside look into Nigerian culture and traditions. A diverse and entertaining set of memories on how a Nigerian man became an American.

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September 1, 2016

Ndibe (Foreign Gods, Inc.) shares his story of coming to America from Nigeria with a strong command of and love for the English language, playing with words in a way that creates an engaging read. Born into an age of independence in Nigeria, the author's childhood dreams were of escaping the grasslands of his home country for the big cities of Great Britain or America. After meeting writer Chinua Achebe, Ndibe's dreams of prosperity in a new world seem to be coming true when Achebe suggests Ndibe run a literary magazine in America. When Ndibe leaves for the United States, many of his ideas about its citizens come from movies about the Wild West. Actual life in the city is much different, and chasing the American Dream turns out to be more difficult and humorous than Ndibe expects. He shares stories of many amusing run-ins of cultural differences, including explaining to friends his love for his in-laws and his attempt at understanding Americans' love for their pets. VERDICT Ndibe shapes an entertaining and endearing tale from his many struggles. This enjoyable and quick read is recommended for all memoir lovers. [See Barbara Hoffert's "ALA Buzz Books, Pt. 2"; ow.ly/7DqR302NQdW.]--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2016
This memoir by the author of the novel Foreign Gods, Inc. (2014) and the founding editor of African Commentary is a moving and often laugh-out-loud account of one man's immigrant experience. There is a touching anecdote about Ndibe's attempt to find an African American woman's Nigerian father. There are accounts of incidents that seem humorous only in retrospect but were surely something very different at the time, including Ndibe's being mistaken for a bank robber. Less seriously, there are stories about the author's first name being confused with the word okay, a misunderstanding that is the basis of many (perhaps too many) jokes. Accounts of Ndibe's meetings and relationships with other writers, including Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and John Edgar Wideman, will draw considerable interest, but the most appealing aspect of this memoir is the charming, comical, and occasionally eloquent way in which Ndibe captures his own ingenuousness as a man arriving in a new place and being unprepared for what he would find.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)